Winter Garden
by inspiredinfj
Summary: Apple seeks some quiet in the school gardens only to be joined by the last person she expects. (Post-Dragon Games)


The student council room was different late at night. Not like it was during midday, full of debate and cheerful, red-lipped smiles as Apple assured yet another student she could handle the additional task herself. Instead of sunshine streaming in through tall windows, over wood paneled walls lined with photos, the curtains were drawn, the room silent except for the scratching of a quill.

Apple sat at the head of the room, looping her quill to sign and approve another schedule in glistening ink. She looked to the rest of the unsigned papers in a neat stack with weariness. Feeling her eyes grow tired and bleary, she rubbed at them and blinked a few times, her vision resettling on the wall to her side.

She paused, sighed when she noticed the gold fillet frames, a photo of her mother in each one. They read like a timeline of her mother's years at the school, a young Snow White looking more dignified and accomplished as she aged, shaking hands and accepting awards, her red lips tightly lined and black as ebony hair always sleek and long. Apple's eyes lingered over the photo closest to her, the last one, where adult Snow accepted her diploma with a golden diadem dripping rubies down her hair. Her chin was high, her gaze direct with the camera, and Apple thought she looked ready to rule more than just her destined kingdom.

 _How did you do it, Mom?_ she wanted to ask the photo.

Instead, she stood and pulled her peacoat over her shoulders.

–

The gardens outside the school were empty that hour, half as stifling as the embellished student council room and twice as peaceful. Apple brushed her hand over a stone bench, knocking snow onto the frost-hardened ground so she could sit. She wished she'd remembered the wool accessories back in her dorm, but settled for spreading her curls over her shoulders like a thick blanket and drawing her heels close to wrap her arms around her knees. Not as warm as a hat and scarf, but warm enough. She decided it was worth being a little cold if it meant getting to see one of her favorite winter sights.

Apple curled into herself, pressed her nose between her knees so her breath could warm her cheeks. She peeked over top her knees at the rows of enchanted roses across the path from her and watched as small balls of light cast blue over frosted leaves and branches. The lights bobbed all throughout the rose bushes, aimless, but the closer Apple looked, the better she saw the tiny silhouettes of fairies inside.

One fairy hovered in front of a bare leaf and scrutinized it before lying their palms flat against either side and pulling down. Ice crystals formed in the wake of their hands, spreading from the inside-out, until the leaf was lined, thick with frost. Another fairy spun around the pale pink outsides of a rose like they were dancing, their fingertips barely touching it but frost still streaming over its petals.

Apple continued to watch the fairies work, the pattering of falling snow and the flutter of fairies' wings being the only sounds in the night. Her gaze followed them as their graceful forms weaved through the roses. Her heart relaxed into a rhythm and slowly, softly she closed her eyes for a moment.

The next thing she knew, she felt the weight of a presence and opened her eyes to someone standing beside her.

" _Darling_ ," she said, too breathless. Her high heel slipped from under her with a squelch, too loud, too embarrassing. She tried to make it look purposeful by setting both her feet on the ground, not that it was all that convincing.

Thankfully, Darling looked unbothered, or at least politely unaware, as she stood there in a navy, double-breasted coat and scarf.

"May I sit?" she asked.

"Sit? Oh, of course! Please."

Apple watched Darling clear the seat beside her on the bench, her hands gloved in fine leather, and took the moment to mentally berate herself. What would her mother say if she knew how inelegant she'd been just then?

But then, what would her mother say if she knew Apple was alone at night with her Prince Charming?

 _Her_ Prince Charming. It felt weird to think of Darling that way, but after everything that had happened that fated day, everything her friends had told her, she knew it was true. Even though she didn't accept it right away.

The first few days the school was lit up with the news, Apple told people they were mistaken, Daring had woken her. It was a lie that felt like swallowing broken glass with a smile when she said it. After all the talk finally ebbed, she was forced to sit down with herself and accept it, something that she found evoked a whole mixed bag of emotions, from relief to confusion to grief. Over time, her feelings dwindled to something less intense but still obvious in her rigid replies when the curious peer asked about it on occasion. She thought how she was grateful for the space Darling gave her, not once approaching her the past few months, but she was also confused by it. And now, she was anxious. Now Darling was sitting beside her and she couldn't take her eyes off her or the way her profile looked with the top layer of her white-blonde hair tied away from the sharp lines of her jaw, loose curls falling down her back, posture proud. She looked noble, nothing shy of the dozen portraits of past King Charmings that hung in the school's entry.

Darling turned to face her and she turned away, quick enough to feel curls brush against the side of her face. There was a beat of silence, and then: "I can go, if you want," Darling said. "If you came here to be alone or… any other reason."

"What?" Apple blurted, then bit her lip. She thought of the photos of her mother and the composure she always had, no matter the situation. She wondered what her mother would do now. "No, I… I'm glad you're here."

"You are?"

Darling looked right at her, her blue-gray eyes round with surprise, and Apple stared a little too long before glancing down at her knees, pressed together. She swept blonde hair away from her forehead, running her fingers over it a few times.

"I mean, I'm glad for the company," Apple tried again, relieved when it came out easier. "It's kind of nice after being stuck in the student council room alone all night."

"Is that why you're out after curfew? For student council work?"

"Yes, but I don't mind." She beamed, cheery at the mention of something so familiar. "It's more important to me that things get done on time. I'm only here because I needed a break. _Oh!_ Not that I can't handle being the student president. I can! It's only that… Sometimes I…"

Darling laughed, a gentle sound that surprised Apple with its pleasantness. Apple stared as Darling's face warmed, the corners of her eyes fondly wrinkling.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to laugh. It's just that you looked so—" Darling stopped. Her expression faltered like she had reconsidered her words and Apple wondered what she was going to call her. Childish? Ridiculous? _Cute?_

She waved the last thought out of her head in time to catch Darling's mild smile.

"What I meant was, 'incapable' is the last thing I would consider you. You're probably the most hardworking, motivated person at this school. It's what I've always liked about you."

"Oh." Apple blinked, light eyes wide. She didn't understand it, but there was something there, in the way Darling said it — _what I've always liked about you_ — that sent chills over her skin.

"You must be freezing." Brows furrowed, Darling noticed her shiver. "Here, you should have these."

Apple looked up as Darling took off her gloves and scarf and looped the latter behind Apple's neck for her, gold curls spilling over the deep blue. Darling pulled her hands down the length of the fabric, touch too hot and fleeting against Apple's skin, but didn't let go of the ends. Apple searched her face, close enough for her to see snowflakes in her pale lashes and the fine scars that lined her skin. She couldn't remember what Darling looked like those few times she had noticed her before, in the background of her childhood playdates with Daring, but she was sure she never looked like this, now distinguished and handsome.

"Is this okay?" Darling asked, voice soft, so soft. Her eyes flitted to Apple's for confirmation and that was when Apple noticed the coyness in her glance, the weight in her question.

Apple turned away, embarrassment flooding her round cheeks.

Darling let the scarf slip between her fingers. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that."

"It's fine."

"Apple…" For a moment, there was only quiet and the gentle sigh of Darling's breath. "I want to be honest with you. I know the situation is… surprising and it's a lot to take in, but I want you to know I don't expect anything from you. No matter what happened that day in the forest, if this isn't something you want, you don't have to force yourself into it."

Apple looked to Darling and saw the sincerity in her face, slightly flushed.

"But if I'm being honest," she smiled, "I'm glad things happened the way they did."

Apple watched her high heels scrape against hard ground as they shifted inward, her face still warm. "Darling, I don't know what to say."

"That's okay. You don't have to say anything right now. I only wanted you to know what I thought and… how I felt, but I understand if you need more time."

Apple sunk her teeth into her red lip and tugged, uncertain, then glanced over to Darling standing up.

"We can talk later, okay?" Darling said, eyes soft and closed with a smile.

"Okay," Apple breathed, returning the smile.

Darling walked away, bluish fairy light tinting her body cool tones and throwing lean shadows on the path. It wasn't until she disappeared behind a row of high hedges that Apple noticed the scarf still around her neck. Rather than take it off, she left it and pulled her knees back up to her face, pressing pink cheeks against her knees to thoughts of Darling.


End file.
